Holy Cow

This article explains the two major meanings of the expression "Holy Cow".

"Holy cow!" is an exclamation of astonishment or surprise, both positive and negative. Supposedly, it is a minced oath (euphemism) for "Holy Christ!"; although not all speakers may be aware that they are acclaiming a Higher Being.

Examples

Holy cow! You actually looked it up.

Holy cow! This is why America is such a mess. They elect vacuous populists.

Holy cow! There are two things being conflated here.

Holy cow ... talk about paralysis by analysis!

Holy cow, I forgot the wine

Holy cow, here comes the teacher!

Holy cow, Batman!

Derivatives

Holy smoke

Holy mackerel

Holy Moses

Holy cat

Holy Molly (euphemism for "Holy Mary", Molly being a nickname for Mary)

Synonyms

A list of other words for Holy Cow which have more or less the same (or similar) meaning.

Golly, Egad

mild surprise or wonder [Alteration of God]

Blimey

surprise or excitement [Ellipsis from: God blind me]

Wow

wonder, amazement, great pleasure, or outstanding success

Oh, boy!

Meaning: simlar to Wow

OMG

Short for: Oh My God

Gosh

Meaning: simlar to Golly

My Goodness

Meaning: simlar to Golly

Gee

mild expletive of surprise, enthusiasm, or sympathy [Alteration of Jesus]

Origin & History

The catch-phrase "Holy cow! This is great!" was printed in 1919 by the Oakland (CA) Tribune, and there exists evidence, that is has been in use since 1913.

In the United States, this exclamatory phrase is closely associated with two well-known baseball announcers; Phil Rizzuto (1917 – 2007) and Harry Caray (1914 –1998). Both used the expression frequently, in order to prevent themselves from lapsing into vulgarity. In addition, the phrase was brought to public attention by reporter and broadcaster Halsey Hall (1919 –1977), who introduced it to the baseball lexicon.

Usage

This term is considered to be very popular among teenagers. It is also the common oath and popular exclamation in the entertainment industry and is universally heard on radio, television, and in the movies (maybe more often than in real life).

Sacred Cow

In ethnology, the sacred cow refers to cattle declared inviolable for religious reasons. In some pastoral and nomadic cultures, cattle (cows and bulls / oxen) were considered to be a statutory symbol and an indicator for a person’s wealth.

Cows are considered holy by many Hindus, and in most Indian states it is illegal to slaughter them (alos in Nepal, Myanmar and other countries).

Although, for bulls and buffaloes, a 'fit-for-slaughter' certificate may be issued depending on factors like age and gender, continued economic viability, etc. in some Indian states-

Traditionally, Hindus do not slaughter cattle; the consumption of beef is a taboo. After the milk production (which is allowed to be consumed) a cow is usually fed up to its natural death.

Metaphorical Meaning

In colloquial language, "a holy cow" refers to a taboo, that is, something that cannot be touched, removed or replaced with something else.
Examples:

So yes, we would sacrifice an entire generation before talking about leaving the euro, it's a holy cow for Spanish people.

Cricket is India's holy cow.

At my comedy shows, there are no holy cows.

For almost seventy years the life insurance industry has been a smug sacred cow feeding the public a steady line of sacred bull. [Ralph Nader]

Euphemism - Meaning

Of Greek Origin: eu = ‚good‘ and phēmí = ‚speech‘

Euphemisms are intentionally used, to distort reality (a bit). Instead of describing the facts with proper words, some of them are replaced by mild, indirect or vague terms. It mostly has an ironic touch, but not always. It is not direct lying, but also not, as often described, is the replacement done, with the intention, to not offend the listener. It is the intention of the speaker to present and convey the perception of the world more “agreeable”.

Examples:
You aren’t broke; you have temporary negative cash flow
YThere have been no accidental deaths, only collateral damage.

Oath - Meaning

A solemn (mostly formal) declaration or promise to fulfill a pledge, often calling on God or a sacred object as witness.

A disrespectful or blasphemous use of the name of God or something held sacred.

An imprecation; a curse.

Mince - Meaning

To cut or chop into very small pieces. / To subdivide (land, for example) into minute parts.

To pronounce in an affected way, as with studied elegance and refinement.

To moderate or restrain (words) for the sake of politeness and decorum.

Minced Oath - Meaning

Minced oaths are a sub-group of euphemisms used to avoid swearing when expressing excitement or annoyance.
To mince your words, means to choose words that no one (especially Church Authorities in former times) could possibly (officially) be offended.
Thus, MINCED OATHs are a form of cursing by replacing a part of a profane, blasphemous or taboo term with a more acceptable word and thus removing the objectionable characteristics. The “new” term is usually a variation of the original, formed by misspelling (mispronunciation) or rearrangement w/o obliteration of the letters.